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B2 COURSE - Unit 17 PDF

The document discusses countable and uncountable nouns in English. It explains that countable nouns can be pluralized and take quantifiers like "a" or "some", while uncountable nouns are generally singular and take quantifiers like "some" or "much". It provides examples of countable nouns like "dogs" and uncountable nouns like "water". The document also discusses using quantities like "a lot of" with both types of nouns and exceptions where uncountable nouns can be pluralized to indicate types or containers.

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99 views4 pages

B2 COURSE - Unit 17 PDF

The document discusses countable and uncountable nouns in English. It explains that countable nouns can be pluralized and take quantifiers like "a" or "some", while uncountable nouns are generally singular and take quantifiers like "some" or "much". It provides examples of countable nouns like "dogs" and uncountable nouns like "water". The document also discusses using quantities like "a lot of" with both types of nouns and exceptions where uncountable nouns can be pluralized to indicate types or containers.

Uploaded by

Eugenia
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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B2 COURSE

Unit 17 - Countable & uncountable nouns

17.1. - Countable nouns


Countable nouns are nouns that can be counted. Most nouns in English are countable.
Examples:

I have two dogs.
Sandra has three cars.
Jessie has ten dollars.

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B2 COURSE
Unit 17 - Countable & uncountable nouns

For positive sentences we can use a/an or some (with a plural verb form):

There isn’t a dog in the garden.


There aren’t any birds in the tree.

For negatives we can use a/an or any (with a plural verb form).


Is there an orange on the tree?
Are there any chairs in the garden?
How many chairs are there?

In questions we use a/an, any or how many.

VIDEO - 15 'Some things you can count, some things you can't' Song
(Countable/Uncountable)

17.2. - Uncountable nouns

Uncountable nouns are not counted in English. We often picture these nouns as a single concept or one
big thing which is hard to divide. Generally, we do not use plural forms of these words; however some
of these words do end in “s”, so don’t get confused.

Examples:
Mack drinks a lot of water.
Cindy gives great advice.
Paul enjoys politics. Ends with “s” but uncountable

Uncountable nouns have no plural. The verb form is singular and we use some.

Is there any sugar?


How much wine is there?

In questions we can use any or how much.

17.3. - Other expressions of quantity

There are a lot of apples on the trees.


There is a lot of snow on the road.

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B2 COURSE
Unit 17 - Countable & uncountable nouns

A lot of can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns.

Bill Gates has much money.

Notice that we don’t usually use ‘much’ or ‘many’ in positive sentences. We use ‘a lot of’.

Bill Gates has a lot of money.

There’s a lot of beer but there isn’t much wine.


There are a lot of carrots but there aren’t many potatoes.

We use not many with countable nouns and not much with uncountable nouns.

17.2. - Uncountable nouns

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B2 COURSE
Unit 17 - Countable & uncountable nouns
17.3. - Uncountable plurals

Sometimes in English, we do use uncountable nouns in plural forms. This is most commonly done with
liquids and substances. It usually takes on the meaning of “cups of”, “bottles of” or “types of”.

Examples:
We’ll have two coffees. (Cups of coffee)
I bought three waters. (Bottles of water)
The company produces two leathers. (Types of leather)

17.4. - Different meanings

There are certain words which have multiple meanings.


It is possible for one meaning to be countable and the other to be uncountable. 
Take for example the word “light”:

Examples:

I couldn’t see anything because there was no light. (Uncountable noun)


The Christmas tree was covered with hundreds of lights. (Countable noun)

Generally, the rules are still the same. The first use of “light” is a form of energy. 
The second use of “light” means “small light bulbs”, which are normal countable objects.

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